Social software is becoming increasingly important and popular as a means for communicating with not only other users, but other users of similar interests. Millions of users are currently registered and/or involved in the widespread popularity of social software and experiencing the benefits of online social space and the connections and opportunities provided.
When people have face-to-face conversations, others who are nearby can see that the conversation is going on and may also be able to hear parts of the conversation. This setting gives people an awareness of the conversation which they can “join”, if desired. Additionally, non-verbal gestures and body language can provide an implicit invitation to others to join the conversation, such as making eye-contact with people outside the conversation, or stepping aside to make room for someone to join. These actions provide opportunities for serendipitous group conversations in the physical world which are not available in most messaging clients.
Although users prefer lightweight messaging systems such as instant messaging, users want control over to whom conversations are broadcast and are less interested in an approach that broadcasts conversations in a lightweight, but very public manner. In other words, that there is a niche for providing a communication channel that lies between traditional, private messaging conversations and more public chat-like conversations.